It’s been a while since I have done an exegesis entry. A lot of that is because I have been busy with other professional things and so I am happy to be back with an exegesis entry. I realized when I was trying to figure out which part of scripture I wanted to do today that I had been too far ahead in the Sundays for this section of ordinary time in the book Women’s Lectionary. Because I no longer know where I am in the calendar, what I’ve decided to do is just go entry by entry so Sunday by Sunday from where I left off. Furthermore, I’m planning to only do the Hebrew Bible passages from each Sunday because I think I’ll get more entries out. After all, I only will have one portion of scripture to work with instead of two.
With all that out of the way of my plan, the scripture that I have for today is Genesis 25:21-28. It is the story of Isaac and Rebekah, specifically the birth of their children Esau and Jacob. I want to forewarn you that this passage talks very briefly but it does talk about pain and fear during pregnancy and so if that’s going to be harmful at this point I suggest skipping this exegesis entry and coming back to it when it will not be detrimental to engage with that discussion.
Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife…
-Genesis 25:21
When this passage begins Rebekah has been infertile for 20 years. She and Isaac have not conceived children in their 20 years of marriage thus far due to this predicament Isaac praises the Lord for Rebekah to have children. It is a similar situation to that of Sarah and Abraham however Rebekah and Isaac in the passage perform almost the reverse actions than what Sarah and Abraham did. For example, Sarah was the one asking for children and Abraham talks directly to God whereas, in Isaac and Rebekah’s case, Isaac is the one that is praying for children but Rebekah talks directly to God. They are a couple demonstrating different roles or at least roles playing roles that are not considered the norm based on their genders and based on their relationship to each other in the marriage.
In many ways, Rebekah is an active participant in influencing the next generation of Abraham’s people and followers of God. She will do even more as a leader after this passage when she takes an interest in Jacob and then helps Jacob attain the birthright, more so steals it, from Esau to give to Jacob according to the Women’s Lectionary.
What I think this aspect of the story can show us is that God states that something will occur but does not necessarily promise that it’s going to happen the way that the characters expect. God will operate to fulfill the promise and the way God sees fit, not around the expectations and Norms that humans hold for how Society works. Rebekah can just as much talk to God to gain the assurance she needs and Isaac can take a more passive role as the one praying to God but not directly talking to God. According to the Womanist Midrash, Rebekah is not an active participant until she asks for a prophecy from God. The Womanist Midrash is making the argument that Rebekah is more passive in this section in that we don’t know much about what Rebekah is thinking regarding conceiving children. She does not have a voice in that process. She does not pray to God or does not mention at least in the text that she is praying to God for children as well as Isaac. While I agree that for this passage Rebekah, in the beginning, does not have a voice, Rebekah then has so much of a voice that she is the one that receives the prophecy of God. The prophecy is a source of power for Rebekah as knowledge about who is to be the true leader of her children. Even though it has to come to that point, Rebekah calling out to God is a catalyst for far more participation and activity from Rebekah than what is shown in Sarah’s example as a matriarch of this family.
“If it is to be this way, why do I live?”
-Genesis 25:22
Rebekah’s call out to God is what really struck me in this passage and also is not clear as to what Rebekah meant by that it even states in the Bible itself there’s a footnote that states Hebrew uncertain. The Women’s Lectionary offers that Rebekah could be afraid for her life or just want the discomfort of carrying her or being pregnant to end. I find that very plausible but I do think that the explanation undercuts the importance of that verse in the story because that is the Catalyst of the importance of the severity of the gravitas that this pregnancy is about to bring forth in creating Nations. The Womanist Midrash states Rebekah’s cry could be in fear of losing one of the twins due to their fighting in the womb. once again I could see that making sense though I’m not sure if at the time Midwifery or healthcare for pregnant people would have been to the point of knowing that she was carrying twins I am not sure if that would have been possible but I do think that explanation speaks to the Curious relationship Rebekah will have with her two children as is explain later on.
“…the elder shall serve the younger.”
-Genesis 25:23
God’s response to Rebekah’s question of why she lives, meaning either why she’s through this pain or why she is potentially carrying a pregnancy where one child won’t make it, God answers in a prophecy for two sons. These two children will not live as equals. the older child will serve the younger child and the Nations that come from them will do the same.
According to the Womanist Midrash, Rebekah gives birth to the first set of twins in the Bible.
These two sons are Esau and Jacob. Esau arrives into the world first covered in red and hairy. He goes up to be great at game, a skilled Hunter man of the field, and a beloved Son of Isaac.
And in almost direct contrast Jacob also arrives into the world grasping Esau’s heel. Jacob grows up to be a man that prefers life in the tents, a quiet man and the beloved of Rebekah.
At this point in the text, I question the prescriptiveness of these roles between the parents and the children. It is unclear in the text whether Rebekah revealed to Isaac what God prophesied to her about their children. in a way, the fact that Isaac favors Esau in his relationship with the two sons to me demonstrates that Rebekah did not tell Isaac about the prophecy because if she had I could only imagine Isaac would put more effort and more attention towards the child that’s about to be the stronger of the two and the one that’s to lead the sons and their peoples into the future. maybe Isaac would give you some more attention because Rebekah did tell him and therefore he knew Jacob was going to be blessed more blessed of the two children potentially and so out of some sort of guilt is giving you More attention to Esau but due to the tradition at the time of the firstborn child having Birthright to all the parents own according to the Women’s Lectionary. I interpret the text that Isaac does not know about the prophecy and is assuming that Esau is going to be the inheritor of what Isaac and Rebekah have.
In a way, Rebekah’s favoritism towards Jacob is strangely motivated potentially. would Rebekah have given as much attention to Jacob without the Prophecy from God? Would have she helped Jacob as she did in later passages to take the birthright from Esau by trickery and giving it to Jacob? I’m not sure. In some ways, these questions are answered in particular ways depending on how one interprets the first statement from Rebekah in this passage. If Rebekah is concerned about both of her children making it out of birth this prophecy would be a way of reassuring Rebekah that both of her children are going to make it and not only make it but the youngest one of them will excel and be blessed. If she’s calling out to God because she’s nervous about her survival or her pain it could be a way of God saying that the child who will not be favored by her husband will be a source of power and influence that Rebekah can control. And so it’s ensuring her well-being through her second son because he will be under her influence instead of her husband’s. That second explanation brings a cunning to the text that I don’t know is necessarily present in this passage in some ways and could be supported by later passages once the birthright is stolen from Esau but just this passage on its own I’m not sure if it upholds that type of cunning from Rebekah. However, I think there’s space for both interpretations to be possible.
As in past stories about the family of Abraham, this passage is in many ways the origin story of the Edomites from Esau and the Israelites from Jacob. It’s a way to explain the ranking that the two peoples have in their current society and the relationship that they have with each other. It’s based on the relationships of the founders.
I’m having a hard time thinking of an original or unique interpretation of the text or a takeaway from the text for people that live in the 21st century that I have not said for other Hebrew Bible texts in the past weeks. It is another example of God creating leaders creating people of influence or that will be influential in society from unlikely people. Both Rebekah and Jacob are unlikely members of society at this time to have influence and to have power. Rebekah is a wife of almost 20 years with no children and with an older husband and Jacob is a second-born son. and yet they rise above their prescribed roles and go on to fulfill God’s plans for them. So maybe the messages God creates change and blessing in the unlikeliest of places and therefore perhaps the systems in place that create those empower and those controlled as not systems of God but systems of man. Perhaps a wife can have just as much if not more power in a household as her husband and should. Perhaps the brawny the most physically strong should not inherently be the leader. The people of God have shown that such assumptions are nothing in comparison to the Creator.
Thornback’s Theories 